JÓVENES Y CLASES SOCIALES
III. 6. 4 La estructura social juvenil
VATA PITTA KAPHA
RESPONSE RESPONSE RESPONSE
1. Shape of face Thin, bony, Oval, angular Round, full and elongated. with medium and attractive plain looking fullness
2. Complexion Dark, brownish Fair, reddish Light, clear
or black or coppery and whitish
3. Involuntary bodily movements
Twitching, jerking Body is usually and fine tremors still
still
Body is usually
4. Body weight Light; five to ten pounds
7. Skin moistness Dry Moist and
slightly oily with thin, scanty with brown, blond full with long eye lashes or coppery lashes thick lashes
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18. Body hair Scanty Moderate Thick and
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Prakruti: Your Unique Constitution
21. Chest Long,sunken; Medium in length Broad, strong thin ribs easily medium thick. and covered visible ribs not so visible with flesh or
fat 22. Body odor Little or no smell Strong; armpits None
or perspiration smell fetid
23. Tongue Dark, brownish, Pink or dark red; Light pink.
thick, rough and soft and long heavy and very cracked on
the sides
moist
Now, count the number of vat a, pitta and kapha responses in both sections. The dosha with the greatest number of points shows your vikruti. Since your vikruti is generally your overused, domi
nant dosha, this test provides a rough indication of your prakruti as well.
Sometimes two doshas receive the same (or close to the same) number of responses. This means that you have a dwandaj or two- dosha vikruti. This is quite common and demands that both doshas be considered when you tailor your diet and lifestyle. Which of the two receives the most emphasis will vary according to the sea
sons. However, always keep in mind that vata drives the other doshas. If it received a score as high as another dosha’%, Ayurveda advises you to first pacify vata.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that all three doshas are always present and functioning in everyone. Diet, lifestyle, climate and stage of life all affect how strongly a person displays the characteristics associ
ated with his individual constitution.
Prakruti influences every area of life, including all natural preferences and aversions. Personal constitution also affects sus
ceptibility to illness and the types of illness to which someone is
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prone. A person who is rarely ill most likely is kapha-dominant. If someone gets sick easily, this usually indicates t'a/rf-dominance.
For pitta people, the incidence of illness generally falls somewhere in between the two.
Whatever our doshic make-up, we are predisposed to utilize our strongest qualities excessively. With proper awareness of these tendencies, we can use the right diet and lifestyle choices to coun
teract aggravation of our main dosha. Correct food and behavior provide the keys to compensate for innate tendencies towards ill
ness. No matter what our constitution, these things allow us to maintain and enhance our health.
Food Preferences
People naturally prefer foods which balance the excessive influence of their primary dosha. For example, kaphic people nor
mally shun rich, oily, cold and sweet foods, as well as dairy prod
ucts, because these foods augment the already excessive action of kapha in their bodies. Instead, they choose dry, porous and light foods, like puffed grains, crackers, toast and salads. Because dry foods have greater absorptive capacity, they reduce the abundance of moistening and cohesive secretions that are typical of the kaphic nature. Kaphic individuals like warm food and enjoy and benefit from spices and pungent condiments. Pungent foods and fasting counteract excessive kapha, and these people are usually comfort
able missing a meal or fasting.
Contrast this with people having vata constitutions. These types enjoy foods that are rich in cream, oils, butter and ghee because these substances counterbalance vata’s drying effect. They naturally prefer food and drink that is hot, oily and nourishing, and have a spontaneous aversion for dry, toasted and porous foods which aggravate the already dry state of their bodies. Fasting does not suit vata people because it decreases their stamina. The con
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stant movement that is typical of a vata constitution requires fre
quent replenishment of food and water in order to maintain its energy level.
Dominant pitta gives people a strong digestive agni, faster metabolism and more heat in their bodies. As a result, they like large meals and cool foods and drinks. If given a cup of hot tea or soup, they wait until it cools down before drinking it. Many pitta people have an aversion to alcoholic beverages, because the hot, pungent nature of alcohol aggravates pitta and can produce nau
sea, gastritis and ulcers.
People do not always choose foods that balance their domi
nant dosha. When a person s system is grossly out of balance, they actually develop food and behavior preferences that exacerbate their condition. When vikruti covers over or distorts their inher
ent "knowingness” to such a degree, they become prone to food cravings and addictions.
Identifying The Dosbic Predominance In Food
It is not always possible to carry around a list that tells us which foods will pacify or aggravate which doshas. It is much more practical to be able to identify foods based on their qualities, and to know how these qualities either augment or decrease our primary dosha. We should know that foods which increase vata exhibit cold, dry, rough, hard and light qualities. Foods which are hot, sharp, oily and light increase pitta, while those that are cold, heavy, liquid and unctuous elevate kapha.
For example, let’s compare the qualities of a banana and a watermelon. Both taste sweet, but significant differences cause us to recognize the banana as kapha-ptomoting and the watermelon as twta-enhancing. When we cut or crush a banana, water does not separate from its mass; the substance coheres and holds onto its water content. The banana has a heavy and unctuous character
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which reflects its kaphic nature. However, if we cut or crush a piece of watermelon, it immediately gives up its water content. It is primarily vata and not particularly substantial. One-quarter pound of banana will provide strength and nourishment to the body; the same amount of watermelon does not provide much nourishment. Instead, it has a diuretic effect; it dries the body and augments vata.
Dosha Augmenting Foods
Grains (Wheat, Rice, Millet) Fruit (Banana) Dairy Product
Increases Kapha Dosha
Spices (Cayenne, Pepper,
Turmeric, Chilli) Increases Pitta Dosha Staple Foods
Legumes Increases Vata Dosha
As another example, we can compare grains and legumes.
Wheat, rice, millet and similar grains remain in their hulls even when they are fully matured and dried. They have a heaviness and wetness or oiliness that does not allow moisture to separate from the solid particles. Their kaphic nature makes them nourishing, tissue-building and lubricating. By contrast, when legumes like beans and lentils mature, they dry out, crack open and fall out of their pods. Unlike grains, which are directly tissue-building, these vata-dominant beans and lentils provide energy and motility for the body.
P/7/<*-dominant, pitta-anigmenting food substances are bright
ly colored — red, yellow or greenish. They appear shiny and
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bright and are much lighter in weight than kaphic foods. They have a strongly spicy, sour or pungent flavor. Cayenne pepper, turmeric, ginger powder, chilies and tamarind provide common examples. When used in moderation, they improve metabolism, but when taken to excess, they create too much heat in the body.
Even these few illustrations show how it is possible to predict the effect that certain foods will have on the body. If a food retains its moisture content and resists disintegration, it is likely to increase kapha. If it is brightly colored, shiny, lightweight, spicy, pungent or salty, it probably increases pitta. If it easily loses water content, dries out and cracks open by itself, or is porous, hard and rough, it augments vat a.
Treating Vikruti With Diet
Using these general guidelines, we can select foods that com
pensate for constitutional tendencies towards doshic excess. For instance, since vata is rough, dry, hard, light and cold, foods like crackers, with the same characteristics, only increase vata. We can counterbalance the qualities of vata with foods that are warm, moist, oily and heavy foods that are also generally sweet, sour and salty. Someone with vata vikruti should favor moist, lubricating, nutritive and tissue-building foods, which compensate for high vata. Vrf/rf-balancing foods include ghee, butter, dairy products, bananas, wheat, rice, barley and corn.
Pitta’s hot, sharp, oily and light properties can be counterbal
anced with foods that display cool, dry and heavy qualities. These foods taste sweet, bitter and astringent. A pitta constitution should avoid sour, pungent or salty foods and does better with foods and drinks which are cooler, but not cold. These include milk, butter, ghee, most fruits, rice and barley.
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Dosbas Pacified by Tastes
Vata Dosha Sweet, Sour, Salty
Pitta Dosha Sweet, Bitter, Astringent Kapha Dosha Pungent, Bitter, Astringent
We can offset kapha-dominance by eating a smaller quantity of food and by eating foods which exhibit more vata. The cold, heavy, liquid and dull nature of kapha can be counterbalanced with foods that are hot, light, dry and sharp, or those that taste bitter, pungent and astringent. Foods that are dry and light and have pungent and astringent tastes counteract kapha’s tendency toward excess secretions and sluggishness by adding vata's dryness and motility. Such foods include puffed wheat, rice and corn. The puffing process removes the liquid and creates lightness and dry
ness. Light, dry grains like rye, millet, amaranth, couscous and quinoa also offset surplus kapha.
As we become familiar with the essential characteristics of each dosha, we’ll gain an intuitive feeling for identifying which foods can correct our vikruti.
Vik r u t i Pacifying Diets
Each vikruti responds favorably to a particular diet. The items listed below constitute the most ideal foods to reduce the exces
sive influence of the corresponding dosha. The more closely you can follow the diet recommended for your vikruti, the more quick
ly your prakruti, or ideal constitutional balance, will become apparent. However, don’t strain on any diet. Gently favor the foods that are good for you, and eat less often the foods that fuel
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your vikruti. As vikruti disappears and more balance is established, it becomes easier to make life-supporting food choices; the innate ability to recognize beneficial foods — your "knowingness” — becomes more and more available to sattvic minds.
Vata Pacifying Food List
Grains white and brown basmati rice, wheat, barley, amaranth, oats and quinoa
Legumes mung beans, aduki beans, split yellow mung dal, red and yellow split pea and urad dal. All these should be cooked to a soft consistency Fruits sweet and sour tastes, like grapes, lemons, pears,
bananas, sweet oranges, dates, figs, apples (preferably cooked), avocados, berries and a small amount of raisins
Vegetables sweet vegetables, like zucchini, beets, cauli
flower, leeks, carrots, asparagus, cilantro, fennel and a small amount of garlic, green beans, green chilies, okra, parsnips, pumpkins and radishes (preferably cooked)
Spices Avoid using hot, pungent, drying spices. Use fresh spices like ginger root, cilantro, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, turmeric and asafoetida (hing)
Dairy fresh, whole, unhomogenized milk, ghee and a small amount of butter
Meats white meat, like chicken, fish or turkey (baked or broiled), and chicken broth
Nuts a small amount of almonds, pecans and sesame seeds
Oils ghee, sesame and olive in a smaller amount
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Pitta Pacifying Food List
Grains white and brown basmati rice, barley, oat bran, oats, wheat and wheat bran
Legumes yellow mung dal, split red and yellow peas, a small amount of aduki beans and soy products.
All these should be cooked to a soft consistency Fruits sweet fruits, such as apples, berries, coconuts,
dates, figs, avocados, sweet melons, plums and pomegranates
Vegetables asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, cooked onions, sweet potatoes, sprouts, squash and a
Spices
small amount of okra and cauliflower cooling spices, like licorice, cardamom, coriander seeds, cilantro, fennel seeds, fresh basil, dill, turmeric and a small amount of cumin and fresh ginger
Dairy Meats
fresh ghee and fresh, whole unhomogenized milk baked or broiled chicken, turkey or white fish in moderate amounts
Nuts sunflower seeds and almonds in moderate amounts
Oils coconut, sunflower, canola and a small amount of sesame
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K a p h a Pacifying Food List
Grains barley, buckwheat, couscous, millet, muesli, oats, oat bran and a small amount of wheat Legumes most beans, peas and dal. Avoid soy products Fruits apples, berries, cranberries, pomegranates, dried
fruits and a small amount of strawberries Vegetables asparagus, beets, bitter melons, broccoli, beet
greens, cabbage, garlic, green beans, fennel, car
rot, kale, horseradish, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce, okra, cooked onions, spinach, sprouts, squash, turnip and a small amount of artichoke, burdock root and brussel sprouts
Spices hot spices, like pepper, chilies, ginger, cinnamon, clove, fenugreek and bay leaves
Dairy a very small amount of dairy; goat milk and ghee in moderation
Meats freshwater fish, shrimp, rabbit, venison, and a small amount of the white meat of chicken and turkey
Nuts a small apnount of almonds Oils a small amount of olive, corn and canola
Nutritional Guidelines for All Vikrutis
If you are having some difficulty in determining your vikruti and a diet to reduce it, the following diet restores balance to all constitutions and prevents ama from being formed. Whenever possible, eat organic foods. Base your diet on four food groups:
grains, beans, vegetables and fruits:
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Tridosba Balancing Food List
Grains white and brown basmati rice, millet, quinoa, barley
Legumes Fruits
mung dal, yellow mung dal, red lentils, aduki cooked apple, pear, papaya, black raisins, banana, mango and oranges in moderation. Always eat fruit by itself
Vegetables spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus, sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy greens.
Salads
Steam, boil, bake or stir-fry the vegetables fresh, green salad with sesame oil and lemon juice dressing and spices of choice Spices fresh ginger root, turmeric, coriander seeds and
leaves, cumin seeds, licorice, fennel seeds, car
damom, cinnamon, fresh basil, mustard seeds and hing (asafoetida)
Salts in moderation mineral salts, black salt or rock salt
Sweeteners in moderation uncooked honey, maple syrup,
Nuts and Seeds
sucanat (dried sugarcane juice)
in moderation blanched almonds, unsweetened coconut, sesame and pumpkin seeds Oils
Breads
ghee, sesame, olive, sunflower, flax seed, canola unleavened, unfermented breads, wheat and corn tortillas and chappatis
Beverages warm herbal teas or grain beverages, plenty of water (unrefrigerated)
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Chapter Six